


Reabsorption

by twopinkcarnations



Category: The Good Place (TV)
Genre: Angst, Consent Issues, Feelings, Hurt/Comfort, Kissing, Love Confessions, Multi, Recovered Memories, Touching, Trust, Trust Issues
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-03
Updated: 2017-11-03
Packaged: 2019-01-28 20:33:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,662
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12614900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/twopinkcarnations/pseuds/twopinkcarnations
Summary: Michael gives them their memories back.





	Reabsorption

“This is crazy. It probably won’t even work!”

“But we have to try, Chidi! It might be the only way we get our memories back. I think I speak for everyone when I say that I’m tired of not knowing what we’ve missed in the past 802 attempts. Besides, Michael already agreed to try it out. Right, Michael?"

Michael nods solemnly in agreement.

"It's worth a shot," he says, shrugging.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but fine. We're out of other options at this point."

“Alright,” Eleanor says, turning to the other humans. “Who’s going first?”

“I volunteer Tahani,” Jason says.

“Me? Why?”

“Well, you’re always talking about how you’re the first and best at everything. And you’re always trying to be number one. So I think you should go first.”

Tahani pretends to blush, but Eleanor can see that Jason’s flattery has worked its usual magic.

“Okay, alright. If you insist. I shall try to reabsorb with Michael first.”

She rises gracefully from the couch, and her skirts billow around her knees even though there is no wind. Tahani timidly approaches Michael and stops mere inches before him. There’s an awkward moment where he’s not entirely sure where to put his hands, but she helps him out by placing them on her shoulders before shutting her eyes and puckering her lips.

“I can’t make any promises,” Michael says.

“Eleanor’s right,” Tahani says. Her eyes are still shut, and he’s not sure if it’s to pretend he’s someone else or if she’s just as nervous as he is. “We have to try.”

He takes a deep breath.

“Okay. Here goes.”

Tahani is shocked when Michael’s lips brush up against her own. It’s unlike any kiss she’s ever had before from any number of famous people. He's no Chris Pine, but it certainly leaves her breathless as the memories begin coursing through her. He doesn’t deepen the kiss, but his fingers tighten infinitesimally around her shoulders. It's so overwhelming that she almost calls the whole thing off. It's quite disconcerting to see one's life begins flashing before one's eyes. Only, it’s all from here, and she doesn’t remember any of it. Except, _now_ she does.

She steps back, wobbly in her heels, and her eyes snap open. She takes a large, gasping breath and clutches at her chest. Michael lets go of her when he opens his eyes. When and why had he closed them anyway?

“Are you okay?” Chidi asks, helping to steady her. “Did it work?”

He helps her sit down as Eleanor and Jason watch in fascination. Tahani dabs at her eyes.

“Yes. Yes, it worked. It—” She looks up and finds that Michael is watching her intently. “Thank you. It’s a lot to process, but thank you.”

“Of course, of course. No trouble. I'm—I'm glad it worked.”

His whole body was tingling.

“Me next, me next!” Jason says.

He wastes no time in stepping up. He places his hand on Michael’s chest and brings their heads together while Eleanor and Chidi continued comforting Tahani on the couch. Michael feels that odd sense of peace wash over him as it did the other two times Jason did this.

“How, Jason? How do you—”

Jason stops him with a finger to his lips.

“Just trust me, homie, okay?”

Michael nods. He did, in some weird way, trust him. Jason keeps his hand on Michael’s chest and the other on the back of Michael’s head when he brings their lips together. And with Jason, the transference is instant and far more impactful. Michael can actually clearly see some key moments; Janet and his wedding, for instance. As well as a few others that he hadn’t thought about in weeks. Like the time Jason planted all of Janet's cacti in a garden behind his house.

Soon though, Michael knows he has given Jason all he has, but Jason doesn’t move away. With a firm but gentle hand, Michael separates them. Unlike Tahani, Jason is beaming.

“My wedding! I remember my wedding now!”

“You do?” Chidi asks, skeptical as always.

“Yeah, man. And so much other stuff too! Like some lady named Mindy St. Claire. She’s got a pretty dope movie collection, apparently!”

Eleanor and Chidi share a look. It was down to them now.

“Go ahead,” Eleanor says. “Maybe, uh. Maybe you’ll enjoy Mindy’s movie collection too.”

Tahani squeezes her hand in sympathy. Chidi rises and approaches Michael.

“This is weird."

“Yeah,” Michael agrees. “A little bit.”

“Like you’re an _actual_ demon.”

“Boy, nothing gets past you, does it?”

Chidi shakes his head.

“No, I just. I just mean that if we’re talking about moral and ethical implications here, then I’m about to do something that could totally jeopardize—”

“Chidi, it’s kind of too late to worry about that when your two buddies already went for it,” Eleanor says.

“She has a point, you know,” Tahani sniffs.

“What they said!” Jason agrees.

“Alright. Okay, fine. Let’s, uh. Let’s do this, then.”

Michael picks his hands up to put them on Chidi’s shoulders when Chidi jumps back. Michael freezes.

“Ah, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I just. I don’t want you to hurt me, and you have the power to hurt me. And my friends. And I can’t stop you if you do. There’s so many consent issues here that I’m kind of having a panic attack right now, and—”

“Chidi, it’s okay,” Michael says softly. “You don’t have to do this. And I certainly won't make you.”

Chidi shuts his eyes and takes several deep breaths. From the couch, Eleanor takes his hand in hers, and he visibly relaxes. He opens his eyes once more.

“No,” he says. “I need to know what happened, from the other times we’ve lived through this.”

Michael waits patiently for him to continue, awkwardly standing apart from the group of humans who were either still reeling with memories or were panicked at the prospect of getting them.

“I have to initiate,” Chidi says.

“Fine, sure.”

“Promise me that you’ll stop if I want you to stop.”

“I promise, Chidi.”

And god, if this had been a year ago, he would’ve at the very least crossed his fingers behind his back. It seems so unthinkable now. Chidi steps towards him again, and he puts his hands in his pockets. Chidi murmurs a “thank you” before bringing a hand to Michael’s bicep and pushing himself up on the balls of his feet to meet Michael’s mouth.

With Chidi, it’s all very…intense. The absorption is forceful, coursing from him to Chidi like a riptide in the ocean. All the memories show up in bright flashes for no longer than a second before the next one appeared. even Michael is having trouble keeping up. Chidi squeezes his arm so tightly that Michael is about to ask him to cool it when Chidi hops backwards with a gasp like a drowning man. Even Michael felt a little drained from that one.

Eleanor helps him sit with Tahani, who seemed to have calmed down a bit. And of course Jason was already back to his usual self, playing with the Gameboy that Janet had given him as a present a few days ago.

“I guess that just leaves me, huh, big boy?”

Eleanor saunters up with more confidence than she really felt. Michael smirks and plays along.

“Well, if that’s how you really feel, you didn’t have to wait for this excuse to kiss me.”

Eleanor seems satisfied with his response because she moves in closer than the others did.

“Shoulders work for you?” Michael asks.

“I don’t know. I know this isn’t like a _kiss_ kiss, but that doesn’t mean it has to be boring, right?”

"Oh, you mean something like..."

Michael snakes an arm around her waist and his other hand tangles in her hair. He pulls her in tight, and she gasps. He looks at her, challenging. She meets his gaze.

“Yep, that works! Alright. I’m ready.”

She puckers her lips, and her eyes half-shut.

“It spoils the mood when you talk like that," he whispers into her ear. "It doesn’t feel organic when you _tell_ me when you’re ready."

She’s about to debate him on it, but he surprises her with his mouth on hers instead. It catches her off-guard, which he supposed was her whole point. It was like a shot; she would handle it better if she didn't know it was coming.

Eleanor’s memories feel like being on a roller coaster. He’s not sure which way is up or which is down, but he knows they’ve got to keep moving forward and see this to its proper end. He can taste the excitement and fear on her tongue as she tries to take in each loop and curve he throws at her. And just as suddenly as it all began, it ends.

She’s almost reluctant to pull away, and he’s almost reluctant to let go.

“Ummm, guys?” Chidi says.

“Oh, right,” Michael says.

“Oops,” she says.

By increments, they release each other. Chidi takes her hand, and whatever thread had been spun between them is broken. She only has eyes for Chidi now, and Michael, now exhausted, looks towards the front door. They probably wouldn’t even notice if he slipped off to rest a while, would they?

“I love you,” she breathes.

His face cracks into a beautiful smile.

“I love you,” he says.

“Oh stop, you’ll make me cry again!” Tahani says.

“Hey, are you guys gonna have a wedding like me and Janet?”

Eleanor smiles.

“Well, maybe not _exactly_ like you and Janet…”

“Maybe not at all like you and Janet,” Chidi says.

The front door shuts with a click. From outside the house, he hears Tahani ask where he’d gone off to. Michael smiles but keeps walking. The humans had a lot to catch up on.

They could always thank him later.

And hell, he kind of wants to thank them too.


End file.
